Journalists charged over Myanmar protest coverage

A Myanmar court formally charged five journalists on Friday, including a photographer from AP, over their coverage of anti-coup protests, after a week in which the military junta raided newsrooms and revoked media licenses.

The country has been in uproar since a February 1 putsch that deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi power, triggering a mass uprising that has brought hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets to demand a return to democracy.

Five journalists covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon last month were arrested and are facing charges of “causing fear, spreading false news or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee”. 

The junta had amended the law after the coup, increasing the maximum sentence from two years to three years in jail. 

Friday’s hearing saw the five journalists – who were present via video conference – formally charged, as a US embassy representative waited outside the court.